P a g e 7 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r The Smith Mine Disaster I visited Smith Mine 3 time and have over 400 photographs from my visits. There were no signs about, “No Trespassing” at the site therefore we just walked in. We only took photographs while we were there, no souvenirs. The end-to-end area we traversed for photographing is just a bit over 1/4 mile. I will annotate some of the photographs that I’m showing. Photo by Shawn Shawhan The Smith Mine Disaster was the worst coal disaster in the state of Montana. It claimed the lives of seventy-five people and destroyed the mining industry of Bearcreek which had been built around it. Photo by Shawn Shawhan The building in the foreground is where the furnaces are located. The building in the far distance is the home of the mine's director. On February 27, 1943, Bearcreek, Montana experienced what remains the worst coal disaster in the state. A combination of carbon monoxide and methane gas created an explosion killing seventy -four of the seventy-seven men working in the mine. The three men to survive were in the mine but did not see the explosion. However, they described feeling a pressure on their ears but hearing nothing before being blasted with air. One of the men rushed to the phone to let the men on the surface know that something was wrong but before he could he was overcome with gas. The other two men were attempting to escape the mine when they were knocked to their feet by the blast of air and then fell unconscious from the gas. Photo by Shawn Shawhan Inside the stores and supplies room. All the cubbyholes in this room still had screws, bolts, nuts, washers, etc. in them. Photo by Shawn Shawhan Photo by Shawn Shawhan Mechanical room for receiving the coal and forwarding it out to chutes for loading into the trains. The explosion knocked out the electricity, preventing the mine’s emergency system from sounding. However, other mines in the area sounded theirs, alerting the other miners as well as those in the town that something was wrong in Smith Mine. Three furnaces in this room that were covered with asbestos. We did not get too close to them.
8 Publizr Home